Tag Archives: Christmas music

Yesterday at 6:15 a.m. when I got ready to run my 12-miler, I paused at my iMac and checked the outside temperature widget.

67 degrees. On November 15. Too warm for running comfortably. Much too warm.

The second-generation iPod Shuffle

So I decided my best strategy was to drink a lot of water, consume several GU energy gels, and opt for music on my iPod Shuffle that might help me forget that 67 degrees will be at least 70 degrees in an hour. Yep, I broke my longstanding rule about not listening to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving.

Of course, hearing “Oh, the weather outside is frightening,” just reinforced the feeling that the conditions were awful. But I always tend to jolly up when I hear holiday songs . . . whether Christmas, Chanukah, or generic . . . so I figured I had nothing to lose.

We don’t see much of Frosty the Snowman here in south Texas (in fact, my sons have only experienced snow twice in their lives; it seemed almost miraculous to them), but the song always puts a smile on my face. Even when I’m slogging through mile eight wishing a breeze would start to blow the stale, hot air.

The Christmas songs I like best are sung a cappella (Rockapella, the Blenders, and the Groove Barbers are personal favorites) or played acoustically on guitar (Doug Smith and Ed Gerhard are especially gifted musicians). But what I really prefer best? Anything that takes my mind off the one-foot-in-front-of-the-other death shuffle as heat is rising off the pavement, and I’m starting to mentally crater at mile 10.

Listening to those holiday classics did help raise my spirits during most of the long run. However, none of the tunes were as uplifting as one wonderful sight: My front door when I finally finished!